Berlin Alexanderplatz - Schedule, Program & Tickets
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Date:
Time:
Location:
17.04.2026, Friday
19:30
Salzburger Landestheater, Schwarzstraße 22, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
In German with German and English surtitles
Interdisciplinary musical theater in five acts - libretto by Christiane Neudecker based on the novel by Alfred Döblin
What is the big city? Anonymity and isolation? Dehumanization and social inequality? Alfred Döblin posed these questions in his 1929 novel. The brothers Vivan and Ketan Bhatti took Döblin's epic work as a starting point to transfer it to the present day. Their "Berlin Alexanderplatz" is no mere adaptation, but a modern reworking of the classic material that retains the original social context and historical dimension, while integrating contemporary perspectives and challenges. Franz Biberkopf tries to start a new life in Berlin after his release from prison. His struggle against the demons of his past, his confrontation with the big city and the temptations and moral conflicts that keep cropping up are described.
For the new interpretation by Vivan and Ketan Bhatti, writer Christiane Neudecker adapted the novel in a stylized form. The Bhatti brothers deliberately set contrasts with the music: electronic rhythms reflect the incessant energy of the city, while quieter melancholic sounds deepen the protagonist's inner struggles. In 2023, the work was nominated by "Opernwelt" as the best world premiere of the year.
The joint works of the brothers Vivan and Ketan Bhatti range from contemporary chamber music to experimental music and dance theater, stage and film music, to electronic hip-hop-based productions. Ketan and Vivan Bhatti's music theater pieces are created in collaboration with renowned authors and pose questions about integration and exclusion.
As a specialist in new music, music director Leslie Suganandarajah is dedicated to this current work. The new drama director Nuran David Calis and his long-standing team for stage (Anne Ehrlich) and costumes (Anna Sünkel) are developing the music theater piece "Berlin Alexanderplatz" as a gripping multi-disciplinary project.
Subject to change without notice.